Pirate festival's return to Vallejo depends on City Council decision

Some of the over 2200 registered pirates celebrate as they attempt to break the Guiness Book of World Records for the most pirate gathered in one place during the 2010 NorCal Pirates Festival in Vallejo. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald file photo)

Organizers of Vallejo's annual Northern California Pirate Festival say they're hoping not to have to strike colors, weigh anchor and head to another port, but it's really up to the Vallejo City Council.

Whether the festival, which draws thousands to the city's waterfront over Father's Day weekend, has a seventh consecutive year here boils down to a couple of issues council members will decide at next week's meeting, festival organizer Kathy Kingman said Monday.

"The last six years we've tried to stay in Vallejo -- we're big fans of Vallejo -- but after last year with the heat wave and the economy still struggling, we really had to at least research other options," she said. "Because without expanding we couldn't charge for tickets, (which organizers are considering), so we can be prepared (with shade or shelters) for whatever the weather brings."

Several city and business leaders said they heard festival planners were considering moving to Treasure Island, and called them requesting a meeting.

Public Works Director David Kleinschmidt said he, City Manager Dan Keen and City Councilmen Robert McConnell and Bob Sampayan met with Kingman last week after she met separately with local business leaders.

Ease of permitting was discussed, as were liability and parking issues.

"They want a walk-through before the event to ensure any damage to the irrigation system they're charged for afterward was actually caused by their event," a fairly common occurrence, Kleinschmidt said. "We knew we were moving toward a paid parking policy at the waterfront, and alerted all those with event permits last year, and they requested the city consider limited free parking during the event's two days, and the city manager said he'll make that request of the City Council."

The meeting went so well that Kingman asked if a multi-year permit is possible, "so they could plan forward knowing there's a place reserved for them and we were more than happy to accommodate that request," Kleinschmidt said.

Like Kleinschmidt, McConnell and Chamber of Commerce president Rich Curtola described their respective meetings with Kingman as positive.

McConnell said he'd called festival organizers to request a meeting and learned Sampayan had done so, too. Curtola said business leaders were similarly alarmed at the prospect of losing one of the city's remaining festivals.

"(We) heard they were being courted by another venue and were considering moving and we came together to meet with them and discuss their staying in Vallejo," he said. Business owners wanted to express their appreciation of the festival, he said, and since one of the organizers' concerns was a perceived lack of community support, this went a long way toward turning things around, Kingman said.

"For six years we've been throwing ourselves against the community," Kingman said. "We want a more compressive city involvement, have it be more like a pirate invasion (involving businesses) instead of being just a festival that blows in. But since the meetings, it's looking like we're coming back to Vallejo, but we'll have to wait until after the Feb. 12 council meeting."

Curtola, for one, said he has his fingers crossed.

"With all the serious things we discuss, Participatory Budgeting, bankruptcy, sometimes you have to talk about pirate festivals and 4th of July parades and the fun stuff that's important for a community," he said.

Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at RachelVTH.